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Re. Pan and Mayday

Vincent Reh asked for the origins of "pan" and "mayday" in
radio discourse. I'd guess that "pan" is short for "panic",
as in the archetypal phrase "when in danger or in doubt,
run in circles, scream and shout"; "mayday" is, as Vincent
noted, an anglicized version of the French "m'aidez" (as
in, "you safe folks out there, help me").